Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Blog Tour: Touching Melody (Forever First #1) by RaShelle Workman

Maddie Martin's first weekend at college is nothing like she's used to. It's wild, like the wilderness on which the University of Bellam Springs sits. Roped into going to a frat party, she literally runs into Kyle Hadley. The boy she's loved since she was nine. The boy she promised all of her firsts to. But that was before his father killed her parents.

Determined to stay away from him, she throws herself into her music. Practicing piano eases her heavy heart, calms the sadness, and pushes away images of Kyle's face.

Until it doesn't.

Her music professor asks her to play a duet for their annual Graduation Gala. Doing so means she'll be assured another full ride scholarship. It's an opportunity she can't pass up.

But Kyle is the other half of the duet. And that means hours and hours of practicing.

Days and months of seclusion - just the two of them. And it's more than just music. It's passion like Maddie never believed was possible.

The inevitable happens. She falls in love with him all over again.

But, will loving him be enough to erase all the hate in her heart for his father? Can she look at him, and not see the evil in his family tree?

And maybe it's all a set up. Maybe Kyle is only pretending to care so he can finish what his father started, and kill her too.

Welcome to our stop on the Touching Melody Blog Tour! To follow the rest of the tour, click HERE.

Ro's Take on this Journey:

Touching Melody is told in dual narration. It is told by both Melody Martin, the main character, and Kyle Hadley, her long lost best friend who she felt she had to leave behind. There was always the feeling that Melody thought that she was waiting for someday to be reunited somehow with Kyle, though the gruesomeness of the murders left him at arms length for her.After 7 long years of estrangement, (since the death's of her parents, and her homeschooling by her relatives) Melody runs into the guy she loved; her childhood boyfriend, Kyle, at the University of Bellum Springs, where she has received a full scholarship.) She is coerced into going to a frat party with her roommate, Gina, when she comes face to face with the boy she thinks she can never be with, (or without) but he acts like he doesn't know who she is. Gina is not exactly the kind of roommate you want for a deep friendship. She didn't have much character, and left me cold, but eventually she's there, at times, for Melody. The reader finds out why Gina is the way she is, then feels some compassion for her, though she does some very questionable things throughout the book. Kyle and Melody are thrown together to do a duet for the Winter Gala that is an annual event at the University. They are both accomplished at playing piano, and need to spend hours together. There was definitely romantic chemistry there, but something missing at times for me. Throughout the novel they are thrown together physically, but never quite takes off with the entire act.
Melody found her parents murdered, laying in a pool of blood, and saw the chief of police, (Kyle's father leaving the scent with a gun in his hand) when she was young girl. She was convinced by her caregivers, (Uncle and Aunt who were throwbacks to the non-electronic era) that she must never reveal anything or have anything to do with Kyle after his father murdered her parents. She is led to believe it might run in the genes, though deep down inside she never stops loving him. Melody promised Kyle all her firsts, when she was a young girl, and is a very introverted, innocent, and naive girl, who kept her feelings to herself, and lacked communication skills on a deep level, but it was understandable. Every anniversary of her parents death, Melody needs to feel pain in order to get through the date, so she goes to the tattoo parlor, and adds ink to her body. These are significant to her, and the places she has them put are also strategic.
This novel had a wide range of emotions, peaks and valleys, angst, mystery, drama, intrigue, and many, many, secrets, but left so much on the table that I wasn't sure if I thought it was believable enough. Maddy was a very complicated, confused character, with all she incurred, but some parts didn't ring true in the relationship between Melody and Kyle. I was left with questions, and wanted more from the characters. The story wasn't fully played out, and the end was thrown together haphazardly. I felt cheated. There is a mixture of intrigue, deceit, drug entanglements, and situations the reader won't see coming. Things come to light, and the reader realizes why there is so much anger on Kyle's part, and why he plays the a**h*** at the beginning of their reuniting. He actually really cared for Melody, and was just reacting from the hurt and misunderstandings. At the same time, Melody didn't understand the fact that Kyle hadn't tried to stay in her life. She thought they meant more to each other than that, but that truth comes to fruition also. There is an entanglement of the two families that comes to the forefront, and an important element that Melody keeps from Kyle for a long time about herself.This story had a wide range of elements that I liked, and some that just didn't hit the mark for me. I wish the ending would not have been thrown together. Overall, the characters were interesting, and I found the concepts well thought out, though some were over the top. This is definitely a novel meant for adults, and the subject matter is pushed at that sometimes. There are a wide range of emotions and aspects the reader will encounter, and some are very distasteful. It is not meant for the faint at heart.I give, Touching Melody, by RaShelle Workman, 3 Confusing, Misunderstood, Sad, Heartbreaking Stars!

RaShelle Workman is the bestselling author of the Dead Roses series ("Sleeping Roses" is being translated into Turkish, and will be available in print wherever Turkish books are sold in 2014), the Immortal Essence series, and the Blood and Snow series. She's sold over two hundred thousand copies of her novels worldwide in the past year, including Japan, Canada, and Europe. You can find RaShelle all over the web, but the best place to start is on her blog:www.rashelleworkman.com.

10 comments:

The story sounds like it has a lot of potential. But I would want a more believable, cohesive ending, as well. I can go with a lot in books, but I think I would have issues with what you've mentioned. Still, TM sounds interesting. Great review, Ro!